post brought to you by: dyson
When I first heard Beirut I was sold. I didn’t need the buzz and background to make me fall in love with his music. I listened to ‘Gulag Orkestar‘ and knew what was going on. I was once that kid in his bedroom, recording the music he knew and loved. (don’t go looking for any of my 4-track recordings though…)
There is way more to Zach Condon than just a talented kid with some instruments and recording gear putting out records. He has moved passed it all and grown into something way more promising than an ‘indie’ kid recording his music. And while we’re on the topic, can his music be put into the ‘indie’ category?? Who the hell knows.
For me? Zach Condon is the next Brian Wilson.
This may sound like a ridiculous statement but hear me out for a second. He can play it all. He can hear it all in his head. He was very young when he got started into recording music. And he made his first album primarily by himself but realized quickly “Wait?? I don’t need to do this ALL myself!?!” (Hence ‘The Flying Club Cup‘)
So what doesn’t make him the next Brian Wilson? Absolutely nothing. I feel he is right on par (ok maybe a slight stretch because Brian Wilson is my idol) closely on par with what Brian Wilson can and has been to the music world. Brian Wilson learned (as did Zach on Flying Club Cup and March of the Zapotec) that he doesn’t need to play everything himself. So where does this put him? He is now a fully fledged artist/producer who has control over everything from start to finish. He realized he can put down the instruments and just make music utilizing talented musicians around him.
This is close to what Brian Wilson did with the Beach Boys. Pet Sounds was the album that sealed the deal for me. Brian could have stepped out into that live room and played whatever he wanted, but he wanted that big full sound that only a live band could get. And hot damn, if you were the French Horn player on any of those sessions and weren’t playing what Brian was hearing, you’d be sure to hear about it.
So if I were a gambling man I’m calling it right now. Beirut is our generation’s Brian Wilson. Quote me on that if you like. As long as Zach keeps up his pace he will be of the Brian Wilson status in no time. (But stay away from the sandboxes Zach, contrary to popular belief they don’t make music better)
I am one man who writes (pretty poorly) about music because I love it. I study, play, produce, engineer, analyze, and obsess about music. Enjoy all the topics I can muster up to write about.
Have you heard the Joys of Losing Weight? It’s Zach’s “electronic” project from when he was a teenager. If not, I would recommend checking it out.
I have to disagree with you, and only for one reason. Both Brian Wilson and Zach Condon are exceptionally talented musicians, songwriters and producers. But Wilson is a master of pop, while Condon’s music, though beautiful, takes time to digest.
To someone like you, who studies the intricacies of music, Condon’s music is not easily definable. What about the lay person, that just loves music but doesn’t really *think* about it? It takes time – a few seconds – to figure out, is this pop, indie, world music? And that few seconds to figure out what the heck this is, is the difference that will keep him from becoming as great as Wilson.
I would argue the next Brian Wilson, should there be such a person, would be more like a hybrid of Condon’s musicality and Justin Timberlake’s pop sensibility. JT’s no slouch on the songwriting front, but has yet to really jump into production.